I think I have it through Medicare somewhere, along with login.gov.

We saw our first hummingbirds this week. He has stuck around, so may be here for the season.

Looks like fun!

Would better shielding also prevent further instructions being sent after drone launch?

AOC was here yesterday. Her speech really impressed me. Grounded in the truth and heartfelt.

Good read. Thanks

Egg alternatives...Marshmallows, potatoes, rocks... With egg prices stubbornly high, the internet has offered up a host of alternatives, with crafters painting rocks and influencers dyeing everything from marshmallows to potatoes. "Finally a use for B sized potatoes!!" one commenter wrote in response to a video posted on Facebook. https://qctimes.com/life-entertainment/nation-world/home-gardening/article_ef7f15f1-9c56-5b8e-89da-35e62f7b5957.html?utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c06e5d78644b3aab4472

You might expect American winemakers to be popping bottles of California sparkling wine these days. With President Trump's tariffs on the European Union, U.S.-made wine now has a greater price advantage over Italian prosecco and French Champagne. This is a classic case that protectionists make for tariffs: They help domestic producers. But the American winemakers we spoke with are more sour than bubbly about Trump's tariffs. "To me, it's awful. There's no upside," said Adolfo Hernandez, owner and winemaker at Monroy Wines in Sonoma County, Calif. So, why aren't tariffs a big win for American winemakers? We spoke to a bunch of them around the United States, and what they told us challenges the assumption that tariffs will help domestic industries. https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/04/17/g-s1-60718/tariffs-make-sour-grapes-american-winemakers

@Axtremus said in For Teachers ... the Schuylkill River Sojourn program: I stumbled upon this teacher-centric outdoor sojourn program that made me curious: I looked through the site (albeit somewhat quickly), but I didn’t see how it is teacher-centric?

@pique I just got an email from her today. We're planning to get together next week.

@CHAS

US District Judge James Boasberg ruled Wednesday that “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders in mid-March halting the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. The long-awaited decision on Wednesday from a judge President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly attacked puts the administration on the path toward being punished for thwarting court orders. This undated photo provided by CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, in April 2025, shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (CASA via AP) The situation has been a major political and legal flashpoint for the Trump White House in its efforts to carry out a historic deportation campaign, especially in mid-March when it sent three planes of migrants to a prison in El Salvador. That same day, Boasberg held an emergency hearing and told the administration to pause the migrant removals and order the return of deportation flights back to the US. “The Court ultimately determines that the Government’s actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order, sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg wrote in a 46-page ruling detailing his decision. “The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions,” he added. “None of their responses has been satisfactory.” CNN legal analyst Steve Vladeck said these moves are rare. “Holding federal executive branch officials in criminal contempt is just about unheard of, once in a blue moon,” said Vladeck, a professor at the University of Georgetown School of Law. “Part of why Chief Judge Boasberg is moving cautiously is because he’s trying to walk a tightrope, not letting the government off the hook for its misbehavior, but also not provoking pushback from either the DC Circuit or the Supreme Court.” Skye Perryman, an attorney with Democracy Forward, which, along with the ACLU, brought the case before Boasberg, said Wednesday’s ruling “affirms what we have long known: the government’s conduct in this case is unlawful and a threat to people and our constitution.”com/2025/04/16/politics/boasberg-contempt-deportation-flights/index.html

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspended two top Pentagon officials, Dan Caldwell and Darin Selnick, as part of an investigation into who leaked word of a planned top-secret briefing on China for Elon Musk. Axios learned that Musk or Hegseth didn't just decide to call off that briefing after the leak. President Trump himself ordered staffers to kill it. "What the f**k is Elon doing there? Make sure he doesn't go," Trump said, a top official recalled to Axios. Why it matters: Musk has annoyed several administration officials with his constant presence at the White House, his haphazard social media posts and his slash-and-burn tactics at his Department of Government Efficiency. The planned Pentagon briefing, however, got him cross with the boss at the Resolute Desk. "POTUS still very much loves Elon, but there are some red lines," the official said. "Elon has a lot of business in China and he has good relations there, and this briefing just wasn't the right thing." Trump also had said he wouldn't allow conflicts of interest with Musk on his watch, although critics doubt his sincerity. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/16/trump-block-elon-musk-pentagon-briefing-china

I started going down to the catacombs. Turned around at a point that was further than I expected to go. That place is worse.